The Girl
by nameless and forgotten
Summary: when a little girl shows up at a crime scene Sara gets mother feelings...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters etc.

**A/N:** I've written fan fics before, but this is my first english one... English isn't my native language so there can be mistakes (I hope there aren't so many though ) Ah, and I don't really know about the CSI language ;)

I know that my summary is kinda bad... looking forward to reviews :)

**Chapter 1:**

Sara Sidle kneeled down to photograph the street next to the victim. It was a young woman who had been stabbed. They knew nothing about her. She was about seventeen, Sara guessed. She was standing up when she realized that someone was watching her. A little girl stared scared at the young CSI. 

"Hey there... I'm Sara Sidle. I'm a CSI," Sara said smiling at the child. The girl looked at the body next to Sara and then she stared at the CSI again. Sara knew exactly what that look meant. Quietly she nodded and when the girl began to cry silently, Sara bit her bottom lip. It always hurt her to see relatives of the victims cry, but to see this child cry almost broke her heart. She went towards the girl and softly wiped the tears from the child's cheeks. She couldn't help but pull the girl into her arms. 

"Shhh..." she whispered into the girls ear, hoping she would calm down. She had probably seen something. "Was she your mother?" Sara asked with a low voice and looked at the person in her arms. The little girl was still sobbing but she the tears had stopped. 

When she didn't say anything, Sara turned the girls face to hers. When the CSI looked at the girl, the little one shook her head. 

"Your sister?" Sara needed to know how the girl was related to the victim, though it broke her heart to see the girl like that. When the girl nodded, Sara sighed. The dead woman had probably the only one that had cared about the girl, she thought. 

"Will you tell me your name?" The CSI asked, standing up and looking around. Catherine had to be around, but Sara didn't know where. Her colleague and Detective Brass went to look for possible witnesses. 

"Emma," said a little voice and brought Sara back to where she was standing. Surprised she looked at the girl – Emma. She hadn't expect her to say anything, but she was glad the girl did. 

"Good... I like that name." Sara smiled at Emma to give the little girl a bit more confidence. "Look, I'll just call my colleague and tell her about you, ok? Then we'll go and get you something to eat." The girl nodded and Sara thought she'd even seen an idea of a smile on Emma's lips. 

The CSI took out her mobile phone and dialed Catherine's number. 

"Willows," the older woman said as she answered the phone. 

"Hey Cath, this is Sara..." 

"Hey Sara. Found anything?" 

"Uhm... Yes, a little girl. She's the sister of our victim." 

While Sara was speaking to Catherine, she felt a small hand searching for hers. Surprised she reached for Emma's hand and gave it a little squeeze. She looked down at the little girl and smiled at her. 

Cath had been wondering if she'd heard Sara's words right. "A little girl... Where did you find her?" she asked, still a little confused. 

"Actually Emma – that's the girl's name - found me... I think I'll bring her to the lab and then order a pizza or something for her... she looks like she's very hungry." When she said that, she sent Emma a big smile and the girl smiled back. 

Catherine sighed. Actually she really needed Sara's help, but she knew that this was more important at the moment – and the girl could have seen something. 

"Ok, Sara. Take her to the lab, I'll meet you there in about an hour. Bye." 

Sara wanted to say something but then she realized that the call had already been disconnected. She gave a confused look to her mobile phone and put it then away. 

"Come on, Emma." They walked to the car Sara and Cath came with and Sara placed the little girl on the backseat. 

When they arrived at the lab, Sara took Emma's hand and gave it a confident squeeze. They made their way to the break room and Sara told the girl to sit down on the couch. 

"What kind of pizza would you like to eat, Emma?" She asked, her tone friendly, sitting down on a chair in front of the little girl. Emma looked into the CSI's eyes, confused. Nobody had ever asked her what she'd like to eat. 

"Don't you know what you want? Well, we could share my favorite kind, I think you'll like it," Sara said, smiling when she noticed the girl's hesitation. 

Emma nodded and gave the young woman in front of her a little smile. She was glad Sara made a decision for them both. "Ok," she said almost whispering. 

Her eyes wandered around the break room while Sara called the pizza parlor. It was all so new for her. Nobody, besides her sister, had ever really cared about her and now this strange woman was so kind to her. She liked the CSI, even though she had been the one who analyzed her sister's death. When she thought about her sister, Emma felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was glad when Sara finished the call and came back to her. 

"They told me the pizza will be here in 30 minutes," Sara told Emma and sat down on the chair again. 

For a moment there was silence between them and then Sara decided it would be better to tell the girl what they were going to do to find her sister's killer. She cleared her throat and looked at the girl once again. 

"When Catherine comes back we'll have to ask you some questions about your sisters death. I'm sure you want us to catch her murderer." Sara smiled but she wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. She hadn't worked much with children, there had always been someone else with her. But this time she knew she was the one the girl trusted and she also knew that she would do anything to help Emma. 

"That's ok. I don't know if I can really help you but I promise I'll try." 

Sara was surprised how mature the child sounded. Before that she hadn't said very much. She took Emma's hand and looked into the girl's gold-brown eyes. 

"At the moment you are the only one who can help us..." 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Aww, thanks for your reviews :) Hope you like this chapter...

**Chapter 2:**

After Emma had eaten most of her pizza she picked up the glass of orange juice Sara had given her earlier and took a sip. As she put it back on the table it slipped from the edge because of her shaking hands and the juice poured over her dress, the table and the floor. She and Sara jumped at almost the same time.

"I'm sorry..." Emma whispered with tears in her eyes. She was used to her sister yelling at her that they didn't have money to waste and that she should be more careful.

Sara put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about that. I'll just get you one of my t-shirts to put on and some paper towels to clean that up." She smiled and then added, "Just don't go anywhere, ok? I'll be right back."

Emma nodded and sat down again watching after Sara as she left. Then she stared at the rest of the pizza. Sara had only eaten one or two slices. Normally, she and her sister would eat the leftovers of the restaurant the older girl worked in. They didn't have to pay for it and they could save their money for clothes and electricity.

The girl was lost in thought when Catherine entered the break room. The blonde woman smiled when she saw the girl. She walked around the table and Emma looked up.

"Hey there! You must be Emma!" The CSI sat down where Sara had sat before. "I'm Catherine Willows. Sara's colleague. She told me about you..." Emma smiled back shyly and gave Catherine a curious look.

Though Ms Willows seemed to be nice she wanted Sara to come back. With the brunette she had felt safe but now... A small sigh of relief escaped her lips when she heard Sara's steps coming from behind her and she turned around smiling. The brunette CSI smiled back at the girl and handed her the shirt she had brought.

"Oh, hey Cath! I see you two have already met. Sorry about that..." she pointed at the juice on the floor. "I'll clean it up, but don't tell anybody, ok?" Sara knew Catherine would understand when she looked at her. Then she kneeled down and started to clean the floor. "This is one of my Harvard t-shirts, you know. But you can keep it, if you like it. I've got another one. It'll be too big for you, but I thought you could use it as a dress," she looked up to Emma and smiled. The girl looked stunned at the t-shirt. Sara had given her a Harvard t-shirt! And she could keep it!

"Catherine can show you the washroom if you'd like to wash the juice off yourself while I finish cleaning up." Emma nodded, though she would have preferred Sara to go with her.

Catherine stood up and took the girl's hand. "Come on, honey," she said with a wink before they left the room.

When they came back, Sara had already cleaned up everything and the floor looked just like the little accident had never happened. Emma wore Sara's t-shirt and Catherine had given her something to use as a belt. Sara looked up from a magazine she had started reading while the two where gone and smiled. She could see that Emma was proud of wearing a Harvard t-shirt and she was happy about it.

"So I guess we have to ask you some questions now, Emma." Catherine had begun to like the girl and she knew it was not going to be easy for Emma.

"That's quite alright... Sara already told me it had to be and if it helps you to catch the one who did this to my sister I'd do anything." Her voice sounded a bit shaky but she wanted to be strong. "

"Ok..." Catherine sighed before she went on. "We need to know you and your sister's full names first."

"Emma Jean Waters and Suzanne Mae Waters." Emma was almost whispering her sister's name but it was still loud enough for both of the CSIs to hear it.

"Do you have any relatives in Las Vegas?"

Emma sighed before she answered. "I guess it's best to tell you my whole story. That'll probably answer several more questions." She looked down on her fingers, not really knowing how to start.

"My father died long ago, when I was around three. That was when my mom started to drink. Uhm... about a year after that my mom married again. I never liked the guy and I started to hate him when he started to beat me and my sister. At first mom didn't even notice all the injuries and blue spots and when she finally did notice, she only drank more. She did nothing to help us." At that point the tears began to stream down Emma's face and Sara leaned forward to wipe them away just like she did when she found her. That gave the girl the confidence to go on.

"It only got worse. One day when I was five, my sister put some of our stuff into a backpack, stole some money from our stepfather and told me we were going. Later she told me he raped her and that had been when she decided she wouldn't let him do the same to me." Now Emma cried even more and Sara pulled her into a hug.

"It's important for us to know, and I know you can do it. It helps to talk about it, you know." the CSI whispered and Emma nodded.

"We hitchhiked and somehow we ended up in Vegas. The first few weeks we had to live on the streets, but then Sue found that job in a restaurant. The owner's wife liked us. She didn't have children of her own so she made me an alternative. I didn't mind. I even liked it. Eva, that's her name, had been really nice but Harold, her husband, wasn't. It was her who convinced him to let Sue work at the restaurant and to give us this small room just over the restaurant so that we didn't have to live on the streets again. It was her who made me go to school too." Her sobbing had stopped and she only sniffled a bit when she ended. Her eyes were slightly red when she looked up to Sara but she had a little smile on her lips.

Sara had been right. It really helped telling someone about everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Aww, thank you all so much for all the reviews gives everyone a big hug I'm glad you like the story... Well, this Chapter actually wasn't really good but with the help of my beta (AlwaysWrite05 gives extra hug ) it got much better... :) So I hope you enjoy reading ;D

**Chapter 3**

Sara hugged the little girl and smiled a little as she pulled away. She knew how hard it was to tell somebody something that hurt so much.

Emma yawned and wiped her eyes before she smiled back at Sara. She was glad that the brunette was here. Otherwise she probably wouldn't have said a word about her past.

When the two woman realized how tired the little girl had to be they exchanged looks. It was almost midnight and this had been a tough day for  
the child.

"Why don't you lay down on the sofa and sleep a little? The rest of the questions can wait until tomorrow," Catherine said.

With that Sara stood up and led Emma to the couch. "Here sweetie." She smiled and took some blankets out of a cupboard while Emma lay herself down. Sara knew how cold the air conditioned rooms of the lab could be and she always slept better with something to cover herself.

Catherine watched as Sara placed the covers over the girl and a smile appeared on her lips. She had never known Sara to be so good with children and it made her smile to watch her colleague interact with the girl. The younger CSI sat down next to the child and stroked her hair until she knew  
Emma was asleep. Then she looked at Catherine, who was still watching her.

"While she sleeps, we should give Doc Robbins a visit. Then we'll have to look at the photos and the evidence. Oh, and we have to leave a note for social services, so that they can take care of Emma, " Catherine said, listing the things they needed to take care of.

Sara heard the last sentence and felt a sudden loss. She didn't know where the feeling had come from, and it scared her. Why didn't she want the social workers to take care of Emma? She cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah, I guess we should do that. What if she wakes up and nobody is here?" She tried to hide her shaking voice as she looked at the sleeping girl. Where the hell had that motherly feeling come from? She didn't even know the child's age! She shook her head and turned to Catherine.

"You can come back later and check on her," the blonde smiled, a little surprised by her colleagues comment, before she left the room followed by Sara.

"Catherine, did you find anything when I was gone?" she asked her older colleague.

"Well, we know that a car was there. I found an oil splotch on the road and it looked pretty fresh. I don't know if it belonged to the killer's car, but I took some of it to have analyzed. But that was all." Cath sighed. She hated cases like this, as much as she wanted to find the murderer of the young girl, there was almost no chance of solving them.

When they entered the morgue Doc Robins looked up and smiled. "Ah, you're here because of the girl, aren't you?" he asked his two favorite lady CSI's and they nodded.

Sara felt horrible while he showed them he girl's injuries.

Suzanne Waters had been stabbed with a sharp object, most likely a knife.  
Five times it had entered Sue's body and the CSI's guessed the murderer had just left her lying in the street, letting her bleed to death.

Sara bit her bottom lip and forced herself not to show weakness. This was just a case, like so many others she had worked and she had to treat it as such.

The Doc showed them some bruises on the girl's wrists and Sara could pretty much imagine what had happened. In her mind she could see it had all gone down.

The girl had probably known the man, they may have even been out together. Then something went terribly wrong. They argued and the murderer stopped the car, telling her to get out. When she didn't bey, he used violence, which could explain the bruises.

When they were out on the street the argument escalated, the person took the knife, or whatever was used, and stabbed the girl. Sara had a hard time hiding her anger and tears. It had been a long time  
since the last case that had affected her so much. _The bastard had taken the only person who had ever really cared about Emma away from her_, she thought angrily.

Sara tried to calm herself, telling herself again and again that this was just a case and that she should keep her objectivity. But so far, it wasn't working.

Catherine realized something was different with her colleague. Though the younger woman did a pretty good job of hiding her feelings, the blonde knew something was wrong. She could sense the anger and frustration coming from Sara and she wanted to know what made her colleague react so strongly to this case, but she knew asking Sara would only make the situation worse.

Before they left, the Doc handed them the clothes the girl had been wearing.  
Blue jeans and a red t-shirt, both covered with blood.

"Why don't you go and tell Grissom about Emma while I analyze the clothes?" Catherine asked, and Sara nodded, smiling in silent relief.

On her way to her supervisor's office she wondered, if Catherine had noticed how uncomfortable she had felt while they were at the morgue. When she entered Grissom's office, the man looked up.

"Hey Sara." He greeted her, smiling and giving her a signal to sit down. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Yes. You know, while I was at the crime scene taking photos a little girl appeared. Turns out she's the victim's sister. I just wanted to let you know that, because Emma- the girl- is sleeping in the break room at the moment."

Grissom looked at the brunette and nodded. "That's fine. Did she see anything?"

Sara shook her head. "No, not really, I don't think. We're not done questioning her, but she was so tired and as long as she doesn't run away it'll be fine."

Grissom nodded again. "Keep me posted."

She smiled at her supervisor and then left the room.

Before looking for Catherine, she made a detour to see if Emma was still sleeping.

_Just like a little angel_, she thought as she looked at the sleeping girl.  
She could hardly stand leaving Emma alone, but she knew she had to help her colleague with the evidence.

She found Catherine in the layout room, and the two women began collecting the trace evidence on the clothes, working in silence. The blonde CSI looked up at times, gauging the expression on her colleague's face, but Sara, skilled at her hiding feelings, appeared absorbed in the work.

They found some short blonde hairs on the girl's shirt and some blue fibers, but nothing else. After they had finished, Sara looked up.

"I'll take these to Wendy," she said, holding up the hairs. "And then drop the fibers at Trace." Without waiting for Catherine to answer, she left the room.

On her way back to the layout room she made a detour again. Just as she pulled open the door to the break room, Emma sat up, her eyes wide with fear and tears running down her cheeks. Sara practically ran to the sofa, pulling the girl into an embrace.

"Shhh... Emma, I'm here... There's nothing to be scared of, it was only a nightmare." She stroked the child's hair and hugged her even tighter.

After a few moments, Emma had stopped crying and had fallen back to sleep in Sara's arms. She placed her gently back onto the couch and smiled at the once again peaceful looking girl. Sara stayed at the edge of the sofa for a little while just to be sure that the nightmare didn't come back again before she left.

When she reentered the layout room, Catherine met her with a questioning look in her eyes. "I went to see how Emma was and she had a terrible nightmare, so I stayed until she went back to sleep," Sara answered the unasked question, preempting Catherine's actually voicing it.

She didn't see the surprise in her colleagues eyes because she delve back into her work, silently examining the new batch of evidence. Catherine really wondered what it was that made Sara feel so responsible for the child. Knowing that she wouldn't get a proper answer even if she asked she  
simply followed Sara's example.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I'm really sorry for not updating here, but you wouldn't want to read it un-beta-ed hehe AlwaysWrite05 really does wonders with it :) I just hope that you aren't too disappointed of me and that you keep reading my story :) Thanks for all the sweet reviews! hugs everyone

Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter 4

The two women had continued to work, speaking to each other only when necessary. After over five years working with Sara, Catherine could tell when her colleague was not in a talking mood and she knew it that sometimes it was better to just leave it alone.

The hairs had no skin tag, which meant no DNA, and the fibers weren't much help either. They were plain cotton fibers and they could belong to any number of things, and, to make matters worse, were completely untraceable.

All in all they were right back where they'd started.

"We have nothing..." Catherine finally broke the silence between them, looking over the clothes of the victim for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She looked at Sara, who was sitting at the other end of the table staring at the photos from the crime scene.

"I guess so..." Sara sighed looking back at her colleague. For some reason, she was glad the silence had been broken. It gave her a chance to rant. " I hate cases like this... It could have been everyone! There are no signs of rape, not a trace of skin under Suzanne's fingernails that could give us a clue or _something_ we can identify the murderer with!" She hadn't wanted to actually speak her thoughts out loud, but by the time she realized she'd spoken, it was too late.

Catherine looked at her, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"Why don't we go out for a coffee or something. Maybe after that we'll see everything with fresh eyes," the older woman suggested, not really thinking her often stubborn co-worker would agree. Sara looked at Catherine for a moment before she answered.

"Well, that sounds good, but what do we do with Emma? We can't leave her like that in the break room, can we?" _Catherine is a mother, she'd know what to do about that_, Sara thought and began piling the photographs up.

The blonde sighed. Sara was right, they couldn't just leave Emma.

"Okay. Why don't I head over to Starbucks and get us a coffee? The break room can be pretty cozy..." Catherine smiled at Sara and the younger CSI smiled back.

"Good idea. So, uhm... while you're away, I'll have another look at the evidence, if that's ok with you." Cath nodded, a little surprised Sara had actually agreed to taking a little break from the case.

"What can I get you, Sara?"

"Uhm... Just bring me a coffe, black with two sugarsok?"

"All right. I'll meet you in the break room in 20 minutes." Catherine waved goodbye before she headed for the locker room to get her purse.

Left alone, Sara remained sitting where she was, thinking about her and Catherine's relationship, if you could call it that. Normally, they were just "colleagues" and, at times, were barely even cordial to each other. When they worked together on a case, though, they were always a good team. Sara remembered none to fondly all the arguments they'd had and came to the conclusion that they shouldn't go on like that. She put her hands over her eyes and sighed, before she finally stood up and turned her attention to the evidence Catherine had been studying before she'd gone.

When Cath came back to the lab Sara was already in the break room. Stepping into the room she saw that her colleague was again staring at the photos from the crime scene.

"Oh Sara... Didn't we say we'd take a break?" Cath shook her head in disbelief as she sat down.

Sara blushed, quickly putting the pictures back into the folder that was lying next to her. "Sorry... But... I didn't know what I should do after I looked over the clothes again."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Sara, come on!" Sometimes Catherine got the feeling her colleague really didn't have a private life; that she wasn't able to do something non-work-related, and it made her worry. "Okay, before we drop that subject. I suppose you didn't find anything new?"

"No, not really... Only, I've got a feeling that there is something at the crime scene that we didn't see. Something we missed. I mean, there must be _something_!" Sara shook her head in disappointment.

"You can go back later, when we visit the restaurant. It isn't very far away from the crime scene. When there's a better light outside. Maybe you really find something." Catherine told her colleague.

Sara's face lit up and a small smile appeared on her lips. She felt better simply at the suggestion. "Okay….Didn't you want to talk about something else?" she asked. "So, how's Lindsey?" she queried, voicing what she thought to be a good change of subject.

When Catherine heard the name of her daughter, she sighed. "Well... difficult. Sometimes it seems like she wants to do everything I don't want her to do, but I guess that's just a phase. I really hope it all just goes away." Catherine made a shooing gesture, then shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "I wish she'd go back to being as sweet as Emma is now."

"Is she really that bad?" Sara looked at Catherine questioningly; she happened to really liked Lindsey.

"At the moment, I'm afraid, she is. Everything is wrong with me, with school and with everything….I guess that's my fault. I wasn't there for her, not when she needed me," Catherine said, regret and guilt plain on her face as she stared into the dark liquid filling her cup.

"Come on, Catherine! You're a great mother."

Catherine lifted an eyebrow and made a 'yeah right' face, lifting the cardboard cup to her lips. She eyed Sara over the edge of her cup, wondering if her younger colleague really meant what she'd said. "…..You think?" she asked, traces of doubt still in her tone.

"Absolutely, Cath." Sara answered, giving her a reassuring smile. "Just think of all those moms who're drunk all the time, beat their children and even worse. You're just trying to give Lindsey a good life."

"Ok, there are worse mothers than me, but still…I think if I had been there for Linds more often she wouldn't be like that now..." Catherine sighed again. Lindsey really was difficult at the moment, but she couldn't seem to do anything to change her child's behavior.

"She should be glad to have a mother like you. Besides, I'm sure it's only a phase," Sara assured her co-worker with a smirk, taking another sip of coffee.

They both remained quiet after that, neither knowing what to say, drinking their coffee. After a little time passed Sara broke the silence.

"It's getting early. Almost time to clock out. Why don't you go to see Lindsey before she leaves for school? I can stay and wait for the social worker. There's no one waiting for me, so I don't mind," she offered, smiling. She hoped that she hadn't sounded like she wanted to get rid of Catherine, and searched for any signs in her co-workers eyes that she had.

"Well... If you really don't mind... That would be great." Catherine said cheerfully, though her smile was a bit uncertain, but Sara just nodded.

"We 're not getting get anywhere with the case and I'm sure you want to see Lindsey before she leaves school. I really don't mind staying with Emma."

Catherine's face lit up and she grinned, actually wanting to hug her colleague. "Thanks, Sara. I owe really you one!" she said, gathering her things.

Sara grinned back. "No problem. Tell her I said hi!" she called, watching her co-worker disappear through the door, the happy smile still on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Again I let you wait so long... I'm so sorry :( I hope I still have got some readers who want to read the new chapter ;) Maybe I should warn you... It could again take several weeks before I'm able to update the new chap, because I only have one week school left and then I'm in Italy for two weeks (holidays!) But I promise you I'll write while I'm there...

Thanks for the reviews!

**Chapter 5**

Shift had ended not too long ago and Sara found herself sitting in the break room. She wanted to stay with Emma until a social worker would pick her up. Sara was looking through a magazine, but she couldn't have said what she was reading. There were just too many thoughts running through her head. When she looked up, she realized Emma had woken up already. The girl was watching her with a bright smile on her face and Sara smiled back.

"Hey sunshine," she smirked. "Did you sleep well?" she asked putting the magazine away and watching Emma sit up and push the blankets away. The girl sighed.

"Well, yes. After I fell asleep again, I did. Before...you know." She looked down to her knees. The CSI nodded; she knew all too well what nightmares were like. "I'm glad you slept better when you went back to sleep," she said walking over to the couch and sitting down next to the child.

"Wanna tell me the nightmare? Sometimes, that really helps..."

"I don't really remember anymore…Thank you for being here when I woke up," Emma added, dropping her gaze. She blushed slightly.

"No problem," Sara assured her with a slight smile on her lips. "When I have nightmares, there's always my cat to help calm me down..."

"You have a cat?" Emma asked and gave Sara a inquisitive look. She loved animals, especially kittens.

"Yep. She's black with three white feet and her name is Baloo." Sara smirked.

She didn't make it a habit to tell people about her cat's name. She knew Baloo wasn't a typical name for a cat, but she thought the name fit the cat. And she had a soft spot for the old Disney movies.

"Baloo?" Emma asked, her eyes still lit with curiosity, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yes. And don't ask why I chose that name." Sara smiled back, sniggering.

"Oh, I wouldn't have asked. It's... unusual, but I like the idea of a black cat named Baloo." Emma's smile grew wider and so did Sara's.

Sara watched the girl and once again was surprised how un-childlike Emma was in some ways and completely innocent in others. Then she remembered again why they where here.

"Emma, Catherine already left but I still have to ask you a few more questions about your sister before the social worker comes to pick you up."

When she saw the sudden sadness in the girl's eyes Sara swallowed hard.

"That's ok." Emma's voice was almost a whisper when she answered. She had hoped her sister's death would only have been a bad dream, though she knew perfectly well that it wasn't.

Sara had turned on the tape recorder again and now she looked at the girl to make sure everything was ok.

"You're ready?" she asked before she picked up her notebook. When the girl nodded, Sara cleared her throat and started with the easiest question. "When was your sister born?"

"September 15, 1988."

"Do you know if your sister had a boyfriend? Anybody she liked?"

It took a moment before Emma answered. "I don't think so. She was always very busy all day. She left the same time as I did, but I don't know if she goes to school. When I get home she's already there, helping in the kitchen before the first guests arrive. That's usually around five. While she served the meals with Melanie, the other waitress, I stayed in the kitchen and washed the dishes. At eight I have to be in bed and I don't know what happened after that."

Sara had listened carefully but she didn't like what she'd heard. Every child should have a real childhood. Not one full of hard work that made little girls like Emma become little adults long before they should have to.

Sara thought a long moment before she went on with her questions, trying to make them as easy on Emma as possible. When they finally finished with the questions, they both sat in silence for a little while. Then Sara got up to get herself something to drink.

"Do you want something too?" she asked, opening the fridge and looking for some water.

"No thank you," Emma answered quietly.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" Sara came back to the sofa, opening the bottle of cool water she found in the refrigerator. She gave Emma a warm, reassuring smile. The girl looked up to the CSI with her big brown eyes and it was obvious she had something on her mind. "Yes?" Sara asked as she sat down, her gaze still fixed on Emma.

"What..." she paused, and looked down at her hands. "Do you know what they'll do with me? I mean, the social worker?" Emma swallowed hard.

The fear of having to live on all by herself in the girl's voice hit Sara hard. She hated speaking about her days at all the foster families but she knew it was important for Emma to know what she should expect. _How can I tell her that going to a foster family will be fine? That everything will be all right? _she asked herself, biting her bottom lip, realizing how often she'd done so in the past few hours. She didn't _want_ to lie to her, but she didn't want her to be afraid either.

Sara finally decided it was better to tell Emma a partial truth than to make her afraid of what might happen. "Well, I don't really know much about social work." She started; lie number one. "I guess, they'll look for your mother... If they don't find her, you'll be sent to a foster home. I don't know who that might be, so it'd be better to ask the social worker who'll take care of you."

"Oh…I see" Emma answered, her voice shaky.

Sara sighed, though she made sure Emma didn't hear it. "I'm sure everything will be okay," she assured Emma, though she could bring herself to believe it. She wrapped an arm around Emma's shoulders and stroked her hair softly; she remembered the action comforting her when she was Emma's age. She closed her eyes briefly, wishing she hadn't been the person Emma had asked.

"Yeah, I guess it has to..." Emma's voice pulled Sara out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked at the girl, who mouthed a silent "Thank you".

Sara somehow got the feeling the child just understood what she was feeling but she knew that couldn't be. _Just a coincidence_, she told herself letting out another imperceptible sigh.

"I guess the social worker will be here soon," Sara said, hoping to break the silence. It struck her that that hadn't been a good thing to say when she looked into Emma's eyes and saw pure misery.

"I don't want to leave you, Sara." That the girl was just about to cry was evident and Sara pulled her closer, hugging her hard.

"I know... But it wouldn't be good for you. You need a real family, not someone else who is busy all day. I would just blame myself for not being there for you, you know? I'm sure they'll find a wonderful foster family for you and everything will be fine." When she stopped talking and looked at Emma, she saw that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Look, I'll be there for you whenever you need me, ok?" She took a piece of paper from her notepad and wrote down her address and telephone number. She gave it to Emma and continued talking. "You just call me if anything's the matter. That's my cell phone number," she pointed at the first number, "and that's my home phone, but I'm not home very often, or if I am I'm probably sleep, so my cell is a safer bet. It's never off." She pointed at the paper again. "That's my address..."

Emma was still sniffling. Her eyes were red rimmed and her nose shone pink. She looked so helpless, and Sara knew she was, no matter how old she appeared at times. Emma was only a child and her hopelessness was bringing out all sorts of foreign feelings in Sara.

She hesitated and placed a light kiss on the girl's head, the action surprising herself more than Emma.

"Now, come on... Where did Catherine put your clothes?"

Emma showed Sara where Catherine had placed the clothes to dry.

"Okay. Now, why don't you put them back on? They look dry," Sara suggested, watching the girl with a small smile.

"Do I have to?" Emma's asked and Sara looked into her big pleading eyes.

"Well, I guess not. But at least put the jeans back on, okay? I don't want that social worker to get a shock when they see you," Sara gave Emma a wink, handing her the pants she'd had on when she came in. Once again the CSI had to smile about how proud the girl was to wear that old Harvard t-shirt. She still found it slightly surprising that Emma liked her so much, and vice versa. Normally Catherine was the one who was good with children.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **So, here's chapter 6 :) I know it's a little mean to end it here, but you won't have to wait too long for the next one :)

Thanks for all your reviews, I love you guys

**  
Chapter 6**

When Catherine entered the break room at the beginning of the next shift, she found Sara asleep on a case. Literally. A file and a few scattered pieces of paper were serving as her pillow.

A wry smile appeared on the blonde's lips as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down facing Sara. Leaning back in the seat, she watched her colleague's face. Sara looked so peaceful, not at all like the Sara Sidle Catherine was used to and she decided to let Sara sleep a while longer. She doubted that her colleague had gotten much sleep the previous night.

She gathered some magazines that had been scattered on the table and read a few articles while drinking her coffee. The boys had been sent to a multiple homicide somewhere in the outskirts of Vegas, Grissom was in his office, and everyone else was going about their business without the usual chaos. Catherine was enjoying the quietness of the lab.

Absorbed in reading one of the more interesting articles, she didn't notice that Sara was waking up.

"Catherine?" The younger CSI asked, her tone groggy and a little confused.

"Hey, Sleepyhead. You're awake," Catherine said smirking at the brunette.

"Yes, I am. But why didn't you wake me? Shift has already started!" Sara said, casually shoveling the papers she'd been sleeping on back in their folder.

"You looked like you needed the extra few minutes of sleep," Catherine answered, watching as Sara scrambled to hide the papers, her smile growing bigger. She wondered if Sara really thought she hadn't noticed them. Probably not, Catherine guessed. Was she a little embarrassed? Oh, yeah.

"I didn't sleep very well last night, but I shouldn't have been sleep while on the clock." _I should have slept in my bed, like normal people do, but unfortunately I can't._

Catherine sighed. "Come on, it isn't like you do it all the time... I just hope you went home yesterday."

Sara smiled sadly. Oh, she'd gone home all right. First she hadn't been able to sleep at all, and when she finally _had_ fallen asleep she'd been haunted by a terrible nightmare.

She and Emma had been playing something together, a game; laughing and smiling and happy. Then, out of nowhere, a strange black fog had swallowed their friendly surroundings and Sara had been able to see the fear in Emma's big brown eyes as she asked what was happening. Before Sara could answer Emma's pleas, the entire scenery had changed yet again, and the inky blackness surrounding her and the girl was replaced by a room that was all-too-familiar.

Sara immediately heard voices arguing and she'd turned around to face the door where the yelling was coming from. When she'd turned back, Emma had turned into an 8-year-old Sara in faded pale blue pajamas with white clouds. Only the eyes where still big, brown, and fear-filled.

_Sara had watched this child version of her self rise and cross the room. She stared transfixed as the girl reached out tentatively, grasping the brass knob and cracking the door, her favorite teddy bear dangling from her clenched fist. Faint light had fallen through the gap and little Sara stood, face to the crack, watching her parents argue like she'd done so many other times when the voices had kept her from sleeping. _

_But this time was different._

_The voices grew louder, the arguing more intense, worse than ever before. And then Sara's mother had taken the knife, turning and lunging at her father. The blade glinted as it sliced through the air…_

As the blade ripped into her father's body, Sara had been awakened by her own scream like so many other days. The dreams changed, but the end was always the same—always.

"Sara? Are you ok?" Catherine's voice brought Sara back to the present. A little embarrassed about her zoning out, Sara looked at her colleague and forced a smile.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine." Sara got up and poured herself a cup of coffee, ignoring the questioning look Catherine was giving her. "Do you want some, too?" she asked her colleague, still holding the pot.

Catherine looked at her almost empty cup and nodded, holding it out to the younger CSI. "Sure... Thanks."

There was silence as Sara filled Catherine's mug and came back to the table.

"How did it go with Emma yesterday?" Catherine asked a little while after Sara had come back to the table. She didn't believe for a second that Sara was 'fine' and she had an inkling that whatever was wrong had to do with Emma.

Sara—who'd been staring at the black liquid, trying to shake of the images of the dream—looked up.

"Oh, fine. Well, Emma didn't want to go with the social worker—Martins, I think was her name—but I promised to visit her." Sara smiled, though remembering the expression on the little girl's face as she'd left still hurt her.

"Aww... Well, I knew she loved you from the moment I saw you two," Catherine replied, smiling knowingly and finished off the cup of coffee. When she looked up, Sara's mouth sported a small, sad smile and her cheeks had a slight tinge.

"Yeah, I guess she likes me." The brunette mumbled into her cup before standing and rinsing it in the sink. "I'm gonna head back to the scene, if that's ok with you." She said, turning around to look at her colleague. Catherine nodded and stood up too.

"Yeah. I'll pay "Harold and Eva" a visit. If you want, you can catch up with me when you're done."

Sara nodded with a smile. "Ok, thanks... See you later then," she gave Catherine a small wave before she left the room to get her kit.

**-**

Alone in her car, the dream wouldn't let go of Sara. She was so deep in thought that she almost drove past the scene.

The yellow tape had been ripped and sections of it lay on the street. The bloodied spot on the ground was undisturbed; only darker now and dried from the heat of the Vegas sun.

Sara stared at the dark red spot for a moment, saddened that people cared so little about the life taken here that they couldn't abide the crime scene tape. She shook her head and decided to search outside the initial area she and Catherine had searched for evidence.

Nearly two hours later Sara was about ready to give up. Her eyes were tired and it was well-past midnight on a moonless night, the lack of lunar illumination and streetlamps making it pitch black. She was just about to turn around and go back to her SUV when her Maglite shone on something, catching her attention. Kneeling down, she snapped off a few quick photos, before lifting it up. It was a black wallet.

She opened it, not daring to hope it belonged to Suzanne, but when she looked at the photos tucked behind plastic shields, she knew it belonged to her victim. She recognized Emma in all three pictures. One was with what Sara guessed to be Suzanne's whole family, including an about two-year-old Emma. The next one shone an older Emma held tight in Suzanne's arms and the final featured only Emma.

Sara had to smile at the pictures. Emma had been even cuter when the pictures where take than she was now. She studied the photographs for a moment longer before telling herself to get back to work.

She opened the wallet's many compartments and searched for money—there was none. No cash, no credit cards, not even loose change. Sara raised an eyebrow. Could it only have been a robbery?

She couldn't suppress a sigh when she reached for the finger print powder from her kit. Black powder, black wallet, not good. She would have to take the wallet back to the lab and fume it. She took a chance though, and applied the black powder to the plastic shields covering the pictures. Sara couldn't believe her luck when she actually found a print. Hoping that it was from the murderer she carefully lifted the print, bagged the wallet, and placed them both in her kit.

With a small smile of victory she got up and went back to her car. After she'd put the kit into the cargo hold, she took out her cell phone and climbed behind the wheel. She wanted to tell Catherine about her findings.

Her finger was punching in the first digits when the phone rang. She pressed the 'call' button, lifted the phone to her ear, and said her name. She listened silently, unable to say anything, but luckily the person on the other end of the line had only called to tell Sara something, not have a conversation.

After a while Sara mumbled a fast "goodbye" and shut her mobile phone. She leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling that the whole world was spinning. With closed eyes she hoped she had never woken up and that this call had only been some continuation of her nightmare, but even as she thought it – hoping that she'd just wake up in a cold sweat in her bed– she knew that wasn't the case. But how...?

Sara wondered if she should pinch herself, just to make sure she really wasn't dreaming, but she shook her head at her own silliness. She thought back to what the caller had said and couldn't help but wonder if... No, this was only a strange coincidence! Emma's appearance had nothing to do with her past. It could have been any CSI to find the girl.

She opened the door of her car again and stepped out, inhaling the fresh night air, hoping it would clear her mind. At the moment, she was too confused to drive anywhere.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews and enjoy the next chapter :)

**Chapter 7**

It took Sara a while to sort through her thoughts before she climbed back behind the steering wheel. She turned on the radio, trying to relax a bit before going back to the lab, when her phone rang again. She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should accept the call or not, but then she recognized Catherine's number and picked it up.

"Sidle," she mumbled into the phone, feeling guilty that she'd forgotten to call her colleague.

"Sara! Everything okay with you? I've been worried about you, because you didn't show at the restaurant. Where are you?"

"I'm fine, Catherine... No need to worry about me. I'm sorry I didn't call, I totally forgot about it."

"It's okay... Did you find something?"

"Uhm...yes, I found a wallet that probably belongs to Suzanne. There are photographs of her and Emma in it. I didn't find any money, but there was a fingerprint." Sara sighed and looked out of the window. She wanted to get away from the scene as quickly as possible. Again and again she glanced at the dark spot on the street. She couldn't get the image of Suzanne lying there, dying, out of her head.

"Finally, we've got a lead! Hopefully it is a real one, because Mr. and Mrs. Bowman—that's Harold and Eva—couldn't tell me much, but apparently, Suzanne took some school courses in the morning... She wanted to graduate."

Sara heard Catherine sigh at the other end of the line.

"She and Emma's room didn't give me much... Very impersonal and very small... Poor girls."

The brunette sighed, looking out of the window. She'd tell Catherine about the call later.

"You ok Sara? You sound a little distant..."

"Yeah... I'm alright. I've just got so many things in my mind. Listen, I'll be back at the lab as soon as possible and then I'll tell you more."

"Okay. I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye." Sara closed her mobile phone and put it away. For a moment she stared at the blood again, before she started the engine and drove off to the lab.

**-**

About thirty minutes later Sara got out of the car and headed towards the large building. She wondered if she should tell Catherine the whole story, or just what she'd been told on the phone earlier. If she did tell her colleague everything ... No, the phone call had to be enough for now.

She took a deep breath, before knocking on the door to Catherine's office, and opening the door.

"Hey..." she greeted her blonde colleague, putting on a smile that she hoped didn't seem faked.

"Oh, hey, Sara," Catherine looked up from her paperwork and smiled at the younger CSI.

Sara took a seat and a little sigh escaped her lips.

"I got a phone call from Mrs. Martins, the social worker, you know? She told me they searched for Emma's mother. They found out she's in jail. She ... she killed her husband after the two girls disappeared. She was drunk when it happened, and angry, because she knew her daughters had left because of him. So, she ..." Sara swallowed and hoped her voice wouldn't start shaking again, before she went on.

"... she stabbed him to death. The girls were reported missing, but I guess nobody really had cared about them." Sara closed her eyes for a moment. Now it was out. Cared about them to do what? To look for them? To say something? Clarify, please.

When she looked at Catherine again, the blonde had put her had in her hands. When she realized Sara was watching her, she looked up and sighed.

"I can't imagine what I'd do if I was in that situation... Probably I'd have done the same..."

Sara hesitated for a moment before putting her hand on her colleague's arm briefly to soothe the blonde a bit.

"You wouldn't let it get so far, Catherine."

They sat in silence for a moment, Catherine wondering if Sara had really meant what she'd said and Sara feeling that she'd said too much.

They both had been much friendlier with each other and Sara didn't even have to force herself to be cordial. She'd begun to like the blonde more and more. Maybe it was because of Emma, because Sara suddenly—and strangely—felt in some way what it was like to be a mother.

For her part, Catherine had been surprised about the brunette's swift and unexpected changes, but somehow seeing her interact with Emma made Sara much more human in Catherine's eyes. The younger woman had also been really pleasant with her in the last few days. Maybe they even could become something like friends after all.

A few quiet moments later, Sara rose from her chair.

"Why don't you find out if the fingerprint is in AFIS, while I'll search for Mrs. Water's police record?" she suggested and watched Catherine nod, before the other CSI stood up as well.

"Good idea. I'll see you later then..."

Sara sent Catherine an encouraging smile before leaving the room.

**-**

After she'd printed out the information on the hit she'd gotten from AFIS, Catherine went to search for Sara. She found the brunette in front of her computer, staring in concentration on the screen.

"Sara?" Catherine curiously asked, entering the room.

"Hey, Cath," Sara greeted the older CSI absently, still not looking away from the text scrolling in front of her.

"Uhm, I got a hit on the fingerprint you found. I also fumed the wallet and found some partials, all of them matching the print from the inside. I thought you'd like to know." Sara was so absorbed in reading the information on the screen, Catherine was curious. It had to be something important if the brunette didn't even look up. When she stepped forward to look over Sara's shoulder at the computerâ€™s screen to read what had her colleague so enthralled, the younger woman finally turned around to look at Catherine.

"Sorry. I was reading something pretty interesting. I'll tell you in a minute," she apologized before inquiring about Catherine's findings.

Catherine smiled, quietly accepting the apology and handing her the piece of paper she'd printed out before.

"Fred Darnell, 29. I looked over his record. He's committed minor crimes and, what's interesting, an assault. Attacked a young woman with a knife. Brass already knows about him and he'll get him in as soon as possible.

"Now tell me, what did you find out about the mother?" Catherine pointed in the direction of the screen. Sara nodded in response, putting the paper with the information about Mr. Darnell onto the table and motioning Catherine to look at the screen.

"We already knew that Mrs. Waters stabbed her husband. So I searched for more details and found out that the husband had unrecognized heart trouble. The autopsy report gives heart failure as cause of death. Mrs. Waters was only charged for assault, for attacking her husband in the first place, and she got 3 years for that. And her term's up in a month."

Sara paused and looked up at Catherine, who was leaning over her shoulder. She was glad that there still was a chance for Emma and her mother to become a family but there was also a feeling of jealousy somewhere inside of her.

"Interesting..." Catherine said quietly, quickly scanning the text herself. "Do you think Suzanne's murder could have something to do with her mother getting out of jail?" she asked Sara, turning away from the screen again and focusing on the brunette. Sara sighed before she answered Catherine's question.

"I don't think so. Mrs Waters still probably doesn't know where her daughters are and that one of them is now dead. That's why I want to drive down to see her and tell her everything. She's got a right to know what happened to her children. The prison is only a few hours drive away from here and I'd be back Friday."

Catherine watched Sara while her younger colleague told her what she was going to do and nodded slowly.

"You know there are other ways to tell her, don't you?" Catherine asked, for the record. "But if you want to go, I don't think that'll be a problem," she assured with a smile.

In some way Catherine understood that Sara wanted to tell Mrs. Waters in person. She had felt that there the relationship between Sara and the little girl would be something special from the first moment she'd seen the two together. If her Sara decided that she was going to see Emma's mother, Catherine had no intentions of stopping her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thx for the comments, guys 3 I don't know if I'll be able to write much during the next weeks, because I'm moving :( I'll see what I can do, but don't wonder if there's a larger lack of updates ;)

Here's the new chapter! Enjoy (and review )!

**Chapter 8**

The two met again in the locker room at the end of the shift. Closing her locker, Sara walked up to Catherine and sat down on the bench near where her colleague was standing.

"Grissom is allowing me to drive to the prison in California to see Mrs Waters. He said if I was going to miss more than two shifts, I had to take a leave. I'm going to drive down later in the afternoon and come back home the day after tomorrow."

After throwing one last glance at the mirror on the door of her locker, Catherine had closed it and turned around to face Sara while the younger woman spoke.

"Okay, I'll keep in touch with you. I'll tell you when—and if—I get any news about the case while you're away, so keep your phone on."

Catherine had added the last part of the sentence with a wink, knowing that Sara almost never had her cell phone turned of.

Standing up, Sara grinned at Catherine. "Will do," she told her and the two CSIs began walking towards the exit.

"Oh, and I wanted to ask you, is it okay that Lindsey feeds my cat while I'm away? My apartment is pretty close to her school, so she could just drop by before going home."

Catherine frowned, a little confused. _She_ didn't even know exactly where Sara lived, but Sara knew where Lindsey's school was? Realising that her colleague was still waiting for an answer, she nodded quietly.

"Thanks! You're doing me a big favour. Why don't you and Lindsey drop by my place when you pick her up from school so I can show her what to do. She knows the way." Realising what she'd just blurted out to Catherine, Sara blushed searching for a way to escape the questions she knew were coming.

"Look, I've got to go, I promised Emma I'd take her out for breakfast. See you!" Sara gave her colleague a small wave before walking away to her car, leaving her Catherine speechlessly behind.

-

Though it was only 8 am, Emma had been wide-awake when Sara picked her up. Together they drove to a small restaurant, where—according to Sara—the best pancakes in the whole city were made. Emma had agreed right away to what the CSI had proposed. Once in the car the two brunettes had begun talking.

"How are you, Emma?"

"I'm okay... But it's a strange feeling not to be woken up by Sue..." Emma answered Sara's question; tears were welling up in her eyes, when she felt the CSI's hand on her arm.

"It's never easy to lose someone you love, and it will take a while until you stop thinking that she'll turn up again all of a sudden. But one day, you'll wake up and it won't hurt as much. And it will hurt less and less, each day until one day it won't really hurt at all." Sara turned her head to send Emma an encouraging smile, before concentrating on the road again.

The girl leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. It was a nice feeling to know someone cared for her. Sure, she'd always known that her sister loved her, but she had been the only one who ever let it show. With Sara she felt safe and, somehow, precious.

For a while they just drove in silence, until the car stopped in front of a small building.

"Here we are." Sara smiled and turned off the engine. "You ready for pancakes?" she asked her little companion and received a wide smile as an answer. "Okay, then. Let's go!" Climbing out of the car she waited for Emma to do the same and, hand-in-hand, they entered the restaurant.

Sara was greeted by two of the waitresses before she guided Emma to one of the tables.

"So, what would you like?" The CSI asked, handing Emma the menu. Wondering what to eat herself, Sara didn't notice the big brown eyes staring at her. Emma couldn't remember eating in a restaurant other than the one Suzanne had been working in, and now she was invited to breakfast and she found herself still waiting for Sara to change her mind about that. Realising that this wouldn't happen she let her glaze wander over the restaurant. The walls were painted in a soft yellow colour and the windows had orange curtains. When she felt Sara's questioning look on her, she smiled at the CSI, taking the menu into her hands and starting to read.

"Do you like it here?"

"It's beautiful. I've never been to a place like this." Emma had placed the menu back onto the table, still not knowing what to eat.

"What are you eating? I can't decide..."

"I always eat pancakes with maple syrup. Do you want them too? They are delicious." Sara smiled, answering the girl's question. Emma smiled back and nodded.

"That sounds good."

"What do you want to drink? A cup of hot chocolate?"

Emma only nodded a second time, still stunned that Sara really wanted to spend money on her. That moment one of the two waitresses who had greeted Sara before came to their table.

"Hey Sara, nice to see you again! Where you been? And who's this little cutie?" she asked turning to Emma.

"Yeah, I haven't been here in a while...Guess I was too busy with work." Sara smiled at the waitress before introducing Emma to her. When the young woman took off with their orders, Sara decided that she'd tell Emma about her intentions.

"Emma…we found your mother. She's in jail," Sara paused debating on how to break the news and decided to be straight with the girl. "For stabbing her second husband." Pausing, she waited for Emma's reaction, but the girl stayed silent, waiting for Sara to continue.

"I'm going to meet her. I'm gonna drive to the prison in California and tell her about Suzanne." It took the girl a few moments until she started talking. "Okay... What will you tell her?"

Having said that, the thoughts in Emma's mind began racing. Would her mother want to see her again? Did she even care about her daughter? Emma had always thought that she'd never wanted to see her mother again, mainly because Suzanne told her so, but now…After all, she was still her mother, wasn't she?

Only when Sara started talking again, she snapped back into reality.

"I don't really know. But I think she deserves to know what happened to her daughter."

"I think so too... What will you tell her a bout me? Do you think she still cares about me? After all these years?"

Sara took Emma's hand in hers, looking into the girl's eyes.

"She still cares about you, Emma. She's your mother and she always will be. No mother can just stop caring about her children. And, I'll tell her that you are the most beautiful and intelligent little girl ever. Which, by the way, is the truth."

Sara stopped talking when the waitress arrived with two plates and two cups. After the woman had left again, the CSI put sugar into her coffee and started to stir the black liquid, leaving Emma time to sort her thoughts.

The pancakes smelled wonderful, and Emma felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten since the evening before, and the food in front of her looked delicious. She started eating, glad to have an excuse to not talk about her mother. Sara understood her perfectly.

"Like 'em?" Sara asked the little girl after both had eaten in silence for a while. Emma's mouth was full, so she only nodded and smiled at the woman in front of her, before she continued to eat. Only after her plate was empty, did she raise her voice again.

"Will you be home for my birthday on Saturday?" she asked Sara, her big brown eyes filled with hope. If Suzanne couldn't be there for her birthday, she hoped that at least Sara could. Emma was all alone in the world, except for the CSI across from her, and spending her 8th birthday all by herself was certainly not what she wanted to do.

"Sure. I'll be back on Friday." Sara smiled at Emma over the edge of her cup. She still had to look for a present for her little friend, though she already had something in mind.

"Good," was Emma's only comment to that, accompanied by a grin.

The drive back was filled with silence, woman and girl deep in thought. Emma was sad that she wouldn't see Sara for the next few days, but she knew the CSI would be back soon. And then there were still all those questions about her mother on her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I know I've been horrible :( thanks to everyone who still read my story & reviewed. You're the best hugs It hasn't been totally my fault that this chapter took so long. Ok, at first it was, because I had a lot of personal trouble and not much room for anything else on my mind, but I finished the chapter by the beginning of December (or around that). The rest has been my beta's fault, but I don't blame her After all, she's got a life as well :D So januarynineteen read through this chapter so I wouldn't have to post it completely un-beta-ed. Thanks hun hugs. I'll probably repost as soon as I've got the beta-ed version (or maybe I'll just leave it like this )

Anyway, reviews would be very much love ;) & I hope you enjoy the chapter (even if it's not very good, I know xD)

**Chapter 9 :**

Sara had just finished throwing several articles of clothing into her duffle bag when the two Willows women arrived. When the brunette CSI opened the door she was greeted by a tight hug.

„Hey Linds!" she greeted her young friend and pulled the girl in.

„Where did you leave your mom?" she asked, closing the door after she didn't see Catherine anywhere in the hallway.

„She's parking the car. I'm sure she'll be here in a minute. I told her we could walk from my school but I think she didn't quite believe me when I said I know where you live," Lindsey answered smiling before she let herself drop down on Sara's sofa. „Can I have something to drink please?"

„Sure... You want some orange juice?" When Sara's question was answered with a nod, she smiled back at the small blonde and went to the kitchen. Coming back with a glass in one hand and a bottle in the other she sat down next to Lindsey.

„So you told her?" she asked after she put both juice and glass down on the table before them. Lindsey poured herself some of the orange liquid into the glass and took a sip before she answered, „I told her that we've met sometimes after school and that you helped me with maths. She wanted to know why we didn't tell her, but I didn't really know what to tell her... I didn't exactly lie to her when I told her I was going to a friend's after school, did I?"

Sara shook her head. „No you didn't... Don't worry about it, kiddo." She smiled at the child next to her, but she began to worry. She didn't want Catherine to be angry at either her or Lindsey.

This moment the doorbell rang once again and Sara's thoughts were interrupted. Getting up from the sofa she winked at Lindsey before opening the door.

„Hey Catherine!" Sara smiled at her older colleague while she opened the door a little wider to let Catherine in.

Baloo had snuggled up in Lindsey's lap and she was stroking the cat's fur absently, her mind still on the conversation she'd had with Sara a few moments before. When she saw her mother enter the room, a smile appeared on the girl's lips. „Hey mom!" she greeted Catherine and told her to come to her. Sitting down next to her daughter, the blonde CSI joined Lindsey's strokes.

Sara was still standing in the doorway watching mother and daughter play with the black cat that visibly enjoyed the attention it was getting.

„Do you want anything to drink, Catherine?"

„Coffee would be nice." Catherine looked up from Baloo with a smile. When Sara turned to go to the kitchen, the older woman got up from the sofa and joined her colleague. „Wait, I'll help you!"

Sara shrugged before she nodded and smiled at Catherine. „You know I can easily make a pot of coffee myself... But if you want to join me -" Sara teased the older woman who let out a soft laugh in response.

„You sure you'll be able to do that alone?" Catherine teased back, entering the kitchen after Sara. Watching the brunette put on the coffee, her eyes wandered over the furniture and the walls that were decorated with a few black-and-white photographs.

„Your apartment is nice... I've never been here before..."

„Thanks... Yeah, you visited me a few times with the gang, but that was at my old place. I've only been here for half a year or something. My old neighbour gave Baloo to me when her cat had kittens, but shortly after that we were all thrown out of the building because it was sold and the new owner wanted to change the apartments into offices I think." Sara paused looking for two cups, spoons, sugar and milk and placing everything on a wooden tray. „Coffee's almost done and I seem to have done well all by myself..." she told Catherine with a wink.

„Aw, you could never have done it if I hadn't been standing right next to you!" Catherine continued the light teasing. Actually she was hoping for Sara to continue talking, it was nice to hear the brunette CSI talk a little about her life. The younger woman got the hint when she saw Catherine's curious expression.

„Lindsey was delighted when I found this place... She was excited that that way we could meet more often. I still don't know anybody here... It's hard getting to know the people when you work nights, and sleep all day," Sara laughed and put the pot on the tray. Picking it up, she left the kitchen, Catherine following on her heels.

When they arrived back in the living room, Lindsey had disappeared to some of the other rooms where she was probably playing with Baloo. The women sat down on the sofa and each took a cup in silence. When Catherine took the first sip, her eyes widened in surprise.

„Wow, this tastes like Greg's coffee... Mmmm..." She smiled before taking another sip, eyeing Sara curiously.

„It is, actually... He gave it to me when I moved in here. Sorta welcome present." The brunette lifted her cup and drank some of the black liquid, trying to avoid Catherine's glance. She knew, the blonde would want to know why Greg had known and then she would have to tell her blonde colleague that everybody except her had known.

„So he knew... The others too?" Catherine asked with a sigh, putting the cup down on the table.

„Yes... The boys helped me to get all my stuff up here and I had to tell Grissom... Sorry..?" She turned around to meet Catherine's eyes. She truly was sorry, she hadn't meant to exclude Catherine as it probably seemed to the blonde at the moment. They hadn't worked much together over the past weeks and Sara had never really gotten to tell her only female colleague.

„We didn't really have cases together the past few months, did we? We didn't really talk too much with each other either." Catherine sighed. They drank their coffee in silence until Catherine looked at her watch and stood up. Placing the now empty cup on the table in front of her, she told Sara, „I think we should get going... It's getting late and Lindsey still has to do her homework." She gave Sara an apologizing look, before she went to look for her daughter, leaving her brunette colleague sitting on the sofa alone.

Sara knew that the undone homework and the time weren't the only things why Catherine wanted to leave. She knew, too, that the fact that she hadn't told her about her new apartment had hurt the blonde more than she wanted to show.

The brunette didn't have much time to think about it before Catherine reappeared from one of Sara's room with Lindsey following the blonde CSI.

„Come on, Linds... We'll come back tomorrow to feed Baloo and you can spend more time with her, ok?" Catherine tried to convince her daughter that it wasn't that bad to leave Sara's apartment and go to their own house. She picked up her purse and the jacket she'd worn before and slightly pushed Lindsey to the door's direction, when Sara left the sofa.

„Hey, I haven't shown Lindsey yet how and what to feed Baloo... Do you mind, waiting for another five minutes, Catherine?" she asked, looking at the blonde. She didn't want Lindsey to leave like that, since the kid would easily realize that something was wrong with her mother and Sara and the brunette wanted to take the chance to talk to Lindsey alone.

When Catherine nodded, she led the girl into the kitchen and closed the door behind her. She pointed out Baloo's bowl.

„See? Here you put the food which I keep in here -" she opened a drawer and showed Lindsey a stash with tin cans that were filled with cat's food. „and don't forget to refill his water bowl as well..." she pointed to another bowl and smiled at Lindsey.

„Don't worry too much about me and your mom. Everything'll be alright again, I just think she's a little disappointed that I hadn't told her about me moving into another apartment." Sara let out a sigh and when Lindsey nodded, she smiled at the girl. „Fine."

Sara opened the door again and let Lindsey escape first. „Won't be too difficult to take care of my kitty, will it? And I'll be back again soon..." She smiled at Lindsey and gave her a small hug. „Take care Linds... You too, Catherine... I'll call when I get to the motel."

Catherine placed a hand on Lindsey's shoulder while she looked at Sara. „You take care, Sara..." A smile appeared on the blondes lips, before she continued. „Yeah, please do call me... we'll talk later then, and have a save journey." She raised her hand to wave goodbye. Then she opened the door and led Lindsey through it, who was shouting a quick 'goodbye' to Sara before the door was closed again.


End file.
